Prior to the present invention, various headliners have been molded from plastics material for use in the occupant compartment in the automotive vehicles. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,584 issued May 18, 1982, a self-supporting or rigid automotive headliner is formed with a substrate layer of expanded polystyrene which is relatively rigid. The molded panel has an intermediate layer of polyester urethane foam (a thermoset material) for soft feel and a knitted cloth or vinyl skin employed as a finishing interior cover of the panel.
The substrate layer may also be extruded in sheet form and may be compression molded in matching dies. The intermediate flexible urethane foam layer of this panel may be vacuum formed over the substrate and secured thereto by adhesive. The flexible foam layer may also be formed by spraying it directly on the back of the substrate without use of the adhesive. In addition to these components of different families of materials, the finished layer is provided by a flexible decorative cover of vinyl skin or cloth which is fused to the intermediate layer by flame laminating in which the surface of the intermediate layer becomes tacky and the cover layer is fused thereto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,832, a resilient vehicle headliner is molded from a batt of textile fibers which may be formed from polyesters, such as PET with an elongation of 10 percent to provide resiliency. A portion of these fibers are bicomponent fibers having a low melting point component for use as bonding agents to secure a thin surface layer of foam thereto. Polyurethane, a thermoset material which is not a readily recyclable material, is a disclosed prior art foam. The foam layer contributes to the acoustical properties of the headliner while providing a soft surface to which a textile fabric layer is bonded thereto to provide the finished interior surface of the headliner. The headliner of this patent disclosure lacks a stiff core layer comparable to that of the present invention so that it is resilient and flexible. This allows this headliner to be bent or flexed nearly double allowing it to be passed through the side vehicle windows to facilitate headliner installation. Such headliner constructions are particularly suitable for headliner replacement purposes.